Hip-hop in 5 elements

Audience members trickled into the HUB Auditorium, lured by the sounds of a DJ scratching his turntable. Artwork and musical equipment littered the stage, and before the show had even started heads were bumping to the drumbeats pounding through an array of speakers. These were the sounds of Elemental, the open mic and hip-hop show that took place last night before a sizable audience.

Derek D. White, the creator and host of the show, described it as "Southern style gumbo."

"With gumbo you can add a little bit of everything you want," White said.

White wanted to create a show that was more than just a concert. One major goal of the show was to involve the audience in the performance.

White opened the show by introducing the featured set of acts that performed during the first half of the show: Eastern Parallel, a hip-hop group, opened the show with a few songs that warmed up the crowd. Then the stage was cleared for Remi Moyas, a break-dancer from the group Fraggle Rock.

During the middle of his performance, Moyas was joined by another dancer and they took turns playing off the audience's cheers.

The show transitioned into its next phase with spoken-word pieces by members from the Retro Revolutionary Poets.

The name "Elemental" was chosen because the featured acts explored some of the elements of hip-hop. The five elements showcased were break-dancing, graffiti, emceeing, turntables and knowledge.

"Education is supposed to be free," White said. "We're trying to educate people."

According to White, that is the reason he chose not to charge people for admission.

"We're trying to bring flavor and comfort to everyone who's in here," White said. "Music is the universal language because it brings people together; it sounds cliche but it's true."

During the second half of the show, the open mic, anyone who wanted to perform before the crowd signed up. That included music, poetry, dancing or any other kind of performance art, including a spoken-word performance by student Regent Daya Mortel.

Next quarter, White said he will be hosting Elemental, Volume Three.